College briefs 2009

Agnes Scott College, a liberal arts and sciences college for women in Decatur, Ga., ranks No. 2 as an “Up-and-Coming School” and No. 17 among liberal arts colleges with a “Strong Commitment to Teaching” in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges 2010.” Student achievements this spring garnered the college four Fulbright Scholars, two Goldwater Scholarships plus an honorable mention, a Truman Scholar and a Kemper Scholar. The fall 2009 entering class is one of the largest and most diverse in college history. Agnes Scott offers Presbyterian Scholarships, merit scholarships that recognize academic achievement, leadership, and service to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Alma College

Alma, Michigan

Dr. Saundra Tracy has announced her plans to retire in June 2010 after nine years as Alma’s 12th president. Construction has begun on a LEED-certified gymnasium/convocation center, targeted for completion in August 2010. Alma has signed an articulation agreement with Equatorialis University in Quito, Ecuador, which expands study opportunities for Alma students in Ecuador and provides easy transfer for qualified South American students to Alma. Four Alma students were awarded national Fulbright, Truman and Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarships last spring. Alma’s Model United Nations team won top honors for the 13th consecutive year at the national Model UN competition.

Belhaven College

Jackson, Mississippi

In a year when most private colleges are struggling, Belhaven College has seen its student body grow by 15% to a historical record enrollment total of nearly 3,000 students. Belhaven serves both undergraduate and graduate students on four campuses: Jackson, Memphis, Orlando, and Houston. “Belhaven has seen a five percent growth among our traditional age students, and the adult accelerated undergraduate program and business graduate programs are up 15% to 19% on each of their campuses,” commented Belhaven President Roger Parrott, “This year’s enrollment is the answer to many prayers and the work of our marvelous team of staff and faculty.”

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa

Buena Vista University, a regionally acclaimed institution that relentlessly focuses on learning with innovative and imaginative programs, was recently named a top school in the U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges 2010” publication in the baccalaureate category for the Midwest region. This fall, the university hosted Paul Volcker, a former chair of the Federal Reserve Board and a member of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, for its William W. Siebens American Heritage Lecture. BVU also introduced a new Army ROTC program this fall, the only one offered in western Iowa.

Carroll University

Waukesha, Wisconsin

Carroll University has won a $1.9 million federal grant to support its Pathways to Success project. This five-year award, in the competitive Title III program, is the largest federal grant in Carroll history. Carroll’s Pathways to Success project includes three initiatives to improve students’ academic and career success. The grant will support a five-year program to develop, implement, and assess these initiatives: A faculty engagement program in interactive teaching methods, a comprehensive development program for academic advisers based on current best practices, and the work of Carroll’s Office of Student Success, which works to increase graduation rates by using a high-tech, high-touch approach to monitoring students’ academic progress.

Centre College

Danville, Kentucky

“Shakespeare? Fin de siècle art? Premed? Bo-rriiing! Here are some new classes students are choosing instead.” So says a recent issue of Reader’s Digest, in which Centre’s Dr. Ken Keffer and his CentreTerm course “The Art of Walking” are featured in the special “Laughterpedia” section. “The Art of Walking” is included in a list of five out-of-the-ordinary college courses. Keffer’s course takes an approach to philosophy that’s anything but ordinary. Students explore Immanuel Kant’s “Critique of Judgment” in a variety of unusual settings during the College’s three-week winter CentreTerm.

Coe College

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Coe College offers superb academics and exciting social opportunities in a thriving urban setting that allows students to grow and succeed. Established in 1851, Coe has a distinctive history of liberal arts excellence and a nationally recognized reputation for quality. Over the past few years, numerous new construction projects and facility upgrades have taken place, enhancing the campus environment. Coe is one of just a few private liberal arts colleges in the nation located in a metropolitan area of 175,000 residents, providing an abundance of internship, cultural, and recreational opportunities for students. To see why Coe College is consistently ranked as one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the country, you have to experience it in person. Call us today to schedule your visit.

Davidson College

Davidson, North Carolina

Davidson College will feature events that support a “Celebration of Honor and Integrity” this academic year, as the college marks the 100th anniversary of a student-run honor system. Appropriately, the college will also inaugurate the new Vann Center for Ethics under the direction of Professor David Perry. The Vann Center will develop an interdisciplinary initiative to bring sustained focus to ethical decision-making and integrity of action, and to promote rigorous inquiry and moral reflection on local and global issues.

Eckerd College

St. Petersburg, Florida

Eckerd’s Center for Spiritual Life expands its programming this year with a 10-day exhibit of Jim Crow artifacts in the school’s Elliott Gallery. More than 200 pieces, donated by community members, will be the visual basis for the Burchenal Series presentation “The Jim Crow Effect: Drinking from the Fountain,” presented by Dr. Cody Clark and Prof. Randolph Lightfoot of the Pinellas County African American History Museum. “Between Earth and Heaven: John Calvin and the Formation of Reformed Spirituality,” a lecture by Dr. Chris Elwood of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, will commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin.

Grove City College

Grove City, Pennsylvania

Grove City College is enjoying the largest total enrollment in College history with 2,530 students. Ninety-three percent of the college’s freshmen returned for their sophomore years. New on campus is the recently remodeled Carnegie Alumni Center. The project included a 6,200-square-foot addition and renovation to the existing building. The Center offers new office spaces for work and meetings, a welcoming space for alumni and friends and a place to showcase the history of the College. The project is the last in the College’s $69 million Change & Commitment Campaign. The Carnegie Alumni Center also is an important part of a revitalized downtown Grove City.

Hampden-Sydney College

Hampden-Sydney, Virginia

For more than two centuries, Hampden-Sydney College has been dedicated to the formation of “good men and good citizens.” As a college for men, Hampden-Sydney remains aware of the learning and developmental differences between the genders. The single-sex classroom provides young men with a learning experience uniquely suited to and focused on their needs. Hampden-Sydney is known for its liberal arts curriculum, Rhetoric Program, Honor Code, and its unique focus on the needs of young men in a small and nurturing academic environment. The College enrolls 1,000 students, drawn from 33 states, the District of Columbia, and 19 foreign countries

Jamestown College

Jamestown, North Dakota

Jamestown College, for the third consecutive year, is North Dakota’s only school ranked in the Top Tier by U.S. News and World Report in its “Best Colleges 2010” edition. The announcement came just as new students arrived on campus to begin their Jamestown College Journey to Success. “It is a high honor to be ranked in the Top Tier of the U.S. News rankings,” said President Robert S. Badal. “I think that says a lot about the quality and academic reputation of Jamestown College.” In addition to being named to “2010 Best Colleges,” Jamestown was named a “Best in the Midwest” college once again by Princeton Review as well as a “Military Friendly School” by the publication G.I. Jobs.

King College

Bristol, Tennessee

Dr. Fred Foy Strang, Chaplain and Dean of the Peeke School of Christian Mission of King College (www.king. edu), a PC(USA)-affiliated institution, led a group of students to Kenya and Tanzania during December 2008, and January 2009. The students assisted in leadership training, youth camps, and service ministry among Maasai communities near Mt. Kilimanjaro. Pua Coffman, a senior at King said, “This trip changed the way I look at myself and the world.” The college conducts several mission trips each year as an emphasis on service and mission, and is integral to embodying King’s mission to ‘transform culture in Christ.”

Lindenwood University

St. Charles, Missouri

Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., with a residential enrollment of 3,800 students this fall, is in the midst of two major building projects. Renovations, currently underway, to the beloved Harmon Hall will nearly double the building’s size, after which it will be home to the university’s School of Business and Entrepreneurship. Also, ground was broken last spring on a new 119,000-square-foot student commons building, which will house a second cafeteria, athletic courts, a suspended track, exercise equipment, game and meeting rooms, and a variety of other amenities.

Lyon College

Batesville, Arkansas

Lyon College welcomed it largest class ever the third week in August. The freshman class numbers 217, while the college also enrolled 79 transfer students. Members of the class of 2013 come from 15 states and include five new international students from Ireland, Rwanda, Peru, and England. New Lyon College President Donald Weatherman, who returned to the college as president after teaching at the institution for 16 years, said it is exciting to be at the college just as the new class arrives. He said he looks forward to seeing them graduate in four years.

Macalester College

St. Paul, Minnesota

This summer, Macalester College opened Markim Hall, its first green building. Markim Hall was officially dedicated following a campus-wide convocation on October 1. The $7.5 million, 17,000 square foot facility houses the Institute for Global Citizenship, civic engagement, study abroad and international programs, faculty and staff offices, meeting rooms, and an open atrium for campus events. An original bronze bust of former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, ‘61, a gift of the United Nations Foundation to Macalester, is installed in the lobby. Sustainable features include energy and water use, indoor air quality, materials used in construction and furnishings, native landscaping, innovative storm water management, and public education.

Monmouth College

Monmouth, Illinois

What college was meant to be. Academic excellence, affordability, personal attention, opportunities for friendship and spiritual growth, a beautiful campus – these are just a few of the qualities that Monmouth College offers. We think it’s a college unlike any other! New at Monmouth in 2009 is a beautiful new facility for football and track. The $4.2 million April Zorn Stadium includes a colorful synthetic turf field and lights, which will also benefit the Fighting Scots Marching Band and the college’s many intramural activities.

Ozarks, University of the

Clarksville, Arkansas

University of the Ozarks is celebrating its 175th birthday throughout the 2009-10 academic year. The oldest institution of higher education in Arkansas and one of the oldest west of the Mississippi River, U of O was established by Cumberland Presbyterians on Oct. 28, 1834, in Cane Hill, Arkansas. The University has resided atop College Hill in Clarksville, Arkansas, since 1891. The college has been called Cane Hill School (1834-1851), Cane Hill College (1852-1891), Arkansas Cumberland College (1891-1920), College of the Ozarks (1921-1986), and University of the Ozarks (since 1987).

Peace College

Raleigh, North Carolina

Peace College celebrated the reopening of its Lucy Cooper Finch Library on Aug. 25 after completion of a $3.8 million expansion and renovation project. The project added classrooms, new study spaces, updated technology and a coffee bar to the building. The reopening was held as Peace launched the new academic year with a record headcount enrollment of 744 students. “The new library promises to be a state-of-the-art academic hub of our campus, something that excites our students and the entire Peace community,” said President Laura Carpenter Bingham. A Kresge Foundation challenge grant of $350,000 supported the project.

Queens University of Charlotte

North Carolina

Service projects are a big part of life at Queens. Every spring break, Chaplain Diane Mowrey leads a group of students, faculty, and staff on a mission and service trip to Guatemala. The experience focuses on spiritual self-awareness, the Guatemalan people, and God. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Queens’ partnership with CEDEPCA, a Presbyterian partner organization with which the university works when in Guatemala. In honor of this milestone, Queens — along with other local churches — plans to host guests from CEDEPCA, as well as community leaders from Guatemala, in mid-October.

Rhodes College

Memphis, Tennessee

2009 marks the tenth anniversary of the year in which nationally-recognized academic leader Dr. William E. Troutt became the 19th president of Rhodes College. Members of the college community will commemorate this occasion by a year-long reflection on progress toward achieving the Rhodes Vision of student access, learning, engagement, and inspiration.

Schreiner University

Kerrville, Texas

Schreiner University expects to announce another record enrollment this fall and has constructed two new facilities to accommodate it. The Mountaineer Fitness Center, the first jewel in the crown of the Mountaineer Center Complex, features all new exercise equipment, training and wellness departments, campus recreation department, as well as athletics offices. The $10 million project also included renovation of the Edington Center gymnasium, tennis courts, soccer field, and pool enhancements. Also opening this fall is the new freshman residence, Faulkner Hall, designed to inspire good study habits and serenity, foster community, and be aesthetically pleasing.

Trinity University

San Antonio, Texas

Trinity University is noted for its exceptional faculty and commitment to the intellectual, civic, and professional preparation of talented students. Located in historic, culturally rich San Antonio, Trinity is a leader among private selective universities. This fall, Dream. Inspire. Achieve. The Campaign for Trinity University is concluding by surpassing its $200 million goal. Trinity offers 38 majors and 50 minors, and students may custom design a second major, if they choose. New initiatives include curricular emphasis on interdisciplinary science, East Asian studies, urban studies, entrepreneurial ideas, and Mexico, the Americas, and Spain.

Tusculum College

Greenville, Tennessee

Tusculum College, the oldest college in the state of Tennessee, marked a milestone in 2009 with the appointment of its first female president. Dr. Nancy B. Moody became the 27th president of the college in February, and her inauguration ceremony will be April 17, 2010. Dr. Moody was previously president at Lincoln Memorial University, where she led the institution through a period of significant growth. In taking over the helm of the Home of the Pioneers, Dr. Moody continues to support program growth, fiscal responsibility, commitment to heritage, and global studies.

Warren Wilson College

Asheville, North Carolina

Warren Wilson College has been cited by the 2010 Kaplan Newsweek College Guide as one of “25 Colleges That Might Be Right for You.” The feature describes WWC as a good choice for “Environmentalists Who Need to Get Their Hands Dirty.” The student-driven EcoDorm recently became the first building on any college campus to achieve LEED Platinum certification in the Existing Buildings category. Sierra magazine named WWC as a “Cool School” for the third consecutive year, and Mother Jones magazine selected WWC as one of “10 cool schools that will blow your mind, not your budget.” This fall saw record-setting enrollment.

Waynesburg University

Waynesburg, Pa.

The University offers more than 70 rigorous academic programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Hallmark values of faith, learning, and serving prepare students for lives of leadership, scholarship, and stewardship. Committed to service and civic engagement on campus and beyond, Waynesburg students contribute 44,000 hours of service annually. Committed to keeping quality education affordable, Waynesburg’s tuition is among the lowest of any private institution in Pennsylvania. The comprehensive Christian university is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and is one of only 27 Bonner Scholar schools in the country.

Westminster College

Salt Lake City, Utah

Westminster College has added four new academic programs for the fall of 2009. The new programs focus on specialized fields of study and program designs that are pertinent in today’s world. They include: Westminster Scholars and Spanish-Latin American Studies (undergraduate) and Master of Arts in Community Leadership and Master of Accountancy (graduate). The new Meldrum Science Center is a $25-million facility will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold-certified and house 14 open and flexible classroom/laboratories and five dedicated undergraduate research laboratories. Designed by VCBO Architects and to be built by Big D Construction, the 60,000 sq. ft., four-story center is scheduled to open in spring 2010.

Whitworth University

Spokane, Washington

Whitworth University celebrates recent scholarship of its faculty, including Journalism Professor Jim McPherson, who was a finalist for the esteemed 2008 Frank Luther Mott/Kappa Tau Alpha Research Award for his book, The Conservative Resurgence and the Press: The Media’s Role in the Rise of the Right; Education Professor Betty Williams and Computer Science Professor Susan Mabry, who are collaborating on an automated software application that will assist in diagnosis and treatment of autism; and Theology Professor Adam Neder, who is drawing rave reviews for theological insights in his new book Participation in Christ: An Entry into Karl Barth’s ‘Church Dogmatics’.

Wilson College

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Wilson College recently appointed Rosie Magee as the college’s new Helen Carnell Eden Chaplain. Magee was ordained in September under the auspices of the Presbytery of Carlisle, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and a formal installation service at the college will follow soon thereafter. Magee, who is from Northern Ireland, has a Master of Divinity from the Lancaster Theological Seminary and a master’s degree in voluntary sector organization from the London School of Economics. Previously, she worked as an optometrist and for several international development agencies. The Wilson chaplaincy “combines my passion for spiritual development, education, and intentional community,” Magee said.

Wooster College

Wooster, Ohio

This fall, the College of Wooster launches the Center for Diversity and Global Engagement, in order to provide more comprehensive, campus wide coordination of programs and offices devoted to the advancement of global engagement and the inclusion and academic recognition of U.S. multiculturalism. The center will facilitate collaboration across a variety of areas, including the offices of multiethnic student affairs and international student affairs, the international programs office, interfaith campus ministries, and academic departments such as Africana studies, international relations, cultural area studies, and the modern languages. The center is housed in the newly renovated Babcock Hall.

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